Confinement
by olivv6
Summary: The Team is once again battling life and death in an uninhabited desert (like in the episode Bereft) with no recollection of how, or why, they are there. Wally is starving, Kaldur is dehydrated, and the team needs to rely on each other to survive. This is a character based (true to their personalities/stories), extended storyline exploring each of their limits, fears, and desires
1. Chapter 1

Wally's confusion paled in comparison to the overwhelming pain that engulfed his stomach. _Dear god_, the hunger was unbearable. Barely able to open his eyes, the meta-human used speed to assess his surroundings. _The heck?_

The sun burnt his eyes as they adjusted, and when they did all he saw was light. Light and dust. For miles, hills of sand and rock baked in the heat.

Only then, he noticed the other pains besides those in his abdomen. The hero's skin was raw, and his mouth tasted of dust- a feeling he was _far_ too familiar with by now. Pulling energy from thin air, Wally could only turn his head to see the rest of the Team. They were all still unconscious, but Robin slowly awakened and propped himself up from the coarse ground.

Costume torn and his cape frayed, Wally saw the Boy Wonder portray something that terrified him even more than his own hunger-

Robin was confused. _Scared._

"D…Dick-" sound only left his mouth as a cough, and the bright sun turned to darkness. Kid Flash once again lost consciousness.

….

For the slightest moment, Dick forgot.

Unaware of his position, or even how he got here, Robin was overcome by the heat. Head pounding, sore, and dehydrated, the teen blinked and tried to remember. What was he doing? Where is he? Is that…_Wally?_ Wally! The Team!

His peers lay next to him, each in full battle-gear and unconscious. To his right was Miss Martian, with an arm sprawled over Super Boy's chest. Artemis gripped and cradled her bow in the fetal position. To Robin's left was Kaldur, _Aqua_ lad, undoubtedly in dire need of hydration.

Like an overprotective parent, Robin's bat training came back to him, assessing the situation and flooding his mind with at least ten various ways to appropriately react. First things first: Wally sat in front of him, gripping his stomach and looking dazed. _Starving_. The Speedster tried to mouth something, but struggled to formulate sound.

"Wally," his throat was coarse and made it nearly impossible to speak louder than a whisper. He needed water. Wally definitely needed food.

They were screwed.

"Walls…Kid Flash! Stay with me—hello? Hey, dude!" Robin crawled to his team mate. Unresponsive.

Regardless the numerous grown men the hero had defeated in his lifetime, hunger and his own speed could very well be his downfall. Sustenance was now the difference between life or death.

Dick then decided, no, he _knew,_ that he will do anything and everything in his ability to insure that each member of his Team will survive. Wally, Kaldur, M'gann, Artemis, and Conner _will_ make it out of this hell-hole.

_We_ _will survive._


	2. Chapter 2

[_Robin? W-Where are we?_] M'gann spoke telepathically as she slowly sat up. Blushing, she carefully lifted her arm off Conner.

[_I don't know. Or…remember] _He looked at the Martian, [_Are you ok?_]

[_I'm fine. Is Wally…?_]

[He _needs food. Bad. We need to get Kaldur some water and out of this heat_.] Robin massaged his temples and searched his mind for a solution. [_Can you wake them?_]

She nodded. One by one, the teens came to consciousness. Super boy shot up from the ground.

"Where am I?" he demanded-confused and defensive. "What is this?"

"We don't know- stay calm and check on Kaldur." Robin replied. The Boy Wonder was calm. Composed. He had to be.

Artemis rose cautiously, her hand to her head. "Ugh, what _happened_ last night?"

"None of us remember. Can you help me with this?" Robin was attempting to open Wally's 'cupboards' where, hopefully, provisions were stored.

"No- you have to press down on this…" her hands worked, and the compartment popped open. Empty.

[_Oh! Guys! Guess what I found!_] M'gann's cheery voice shouted into their heads.

No one guessed.

Behind a boulder, the bio-ship flickered out of camouflage mode.

The Team group-sighed out of relief, and Robin was never so pleased to see that red piece of alien technology.

"There's just one problem…" she said. Out loud, nonetheless.

"What, Megan?" asked Artemis, grouchily. She hated nothing more than being let down, although it happened all too often.

"We've been out here for…a long time. I'm not sure if I can get in back online."

"Does it have food? Water?"

"It _should_- in the emergency compartments, but I'm not sure if I can…open it."

"Why not?!" Robin's tone took the Martian out of surprise. He paused, took a breath, and spoke again. "Sorry, I'm very dehydrated, as I'm sure we all are. Can we do anything to help?"

"Well, not really, you guys should just wait in the shade."

Robin nodded. "Artemis, Conner, help me carry these two."


	3. Chapter 3

When Dick found the power bar in his utility belt he nearly punched himself. _Why didn't I search myself immediatly? Idiot!_

"Artemis!" Robin's voice was almost lost due to dehydration.

"What?!" Clearly hers was, too.

"Wake up Wally, I found something." The two rolled the teen to an upright position, his head resting on the boulder under which they took refuge.

"Walls; FOOD."

His eyes barely opened for the slightest moment. "Ungh?"

"Wally! Hey, c'mon, you have to eat this." Artemis un-wrapped the delicacy, and the smell of apple-cinnamon brought life back to the drained speedster.

Without question, the teen attacked the food like a starved animal; nearly swallowing the foil wrapper. "Ohmygosh, that's so good," Wally tried to sit up, but the snack barely gave him enough energy to speak and stay in the world of the living. "Hey, guys? Where are we?"

"No one remembers," M'gann shouted over her shoulder, her eyes glowing in her telekinetic state; arms directed at the bio-ship. "But maybe when I'm done I can access your memories again, and…"

"Just focus on what you're doing, Megan. Survival comes first." Robin had clearly began to start taking his leadership role seriously. With Kaldur like this... "Super boy, how's Aqualad?"

"Not good- he's completely out of it. Hey, you don't know Atlantean, do you?"

Aqualad had been mumbling his native language for the past hour. Or was it two? Anyways, the semi-Greek syllables made no sense to any of the other heroes, but he said them in such a harsh tone. Like he was reliving a nightmare.

Since the incident in Bialya they were each accostumed to, or atleast aware of, most of each other's weaknesses. Their fears, mostly from their line of work, were only obstacles; hurtles they needed to overcome to be successful. However, when your job is 'be successful or die'…

"Hey, look! The bioship!" a dazed Wally sluggishly stated.

"Yes. We know, Walls." Artemis sighed.

"Sooo, why aren't we in there? With the A/C? And…food?"

"M'gann's working on it. Best we can…best YOU can do is get some rest. Conserve energy. You just annihilated only food I had, and I can assume we've been out here well over 24 hours." Robin spoke like a caring parent, and noticed they each are showing signs of severe dehydration. Except for Superboy and M'gann, ofcourse.

The martian's skin was green- perhaps lighter than usual, Conner noted. With her uniform unharmed, her shape shifting form had no physical signs of distress.

While the other teens' skin was red and raw, Superboy kept a healthy tan. Blessed by his half-kryptonian genes, the hero also showed little to no physical damage, but his face grimaced. Out of either confusion, anger, or most likely the horrible combination of the two, Conner was not pleased solely with his durability.

He _hated _not knowing: he fact that, once again, his position was a mystery.

Conner hated that his friends were in danger _again_, and he could do nothing but sit back and wait.

**Author Note- I have a few more chapters on the way, but they might take be a couple of days or so in between to upload. If you'd like me to focus more on specific characters (or pairings(?)) please leave a review! I might do designated chapters for certain pairs, but I'd also like to keep it as true to the characters as possible. Be sure to let me know what you think :)**


	4. Chapter 4

M'gann tried. _Gosh,_ she tried. After four hours, it seemed, her telepathy had only began to solve a few of many problems with the bioship. The energy, exoskeletal systems, and many more smaller components required in opening just a _stupid_ door, were all malfunctioning, and as her mind raced near her mental limit the martian wasn't quite sure is she could ever be able to-

"Megan? Hey, are you ok?" She stopped, dropped her arms and looked down at her feet: still on the ground. She tended to levitate when she got stressed. M'gann turned to see a concerned looking Superboy.

Her cheeks turned a bright pink and she forced a smile. "Yeah, uh, yeah. I'm fine. Almost done, actually!"

Nope.

"Ok, cool. It's just, you've been doing that for a long time and it's getting dark."

"Oh yeah, sorry, I'll hurry."

She just now noticed the sun was setting. On the horizon of the seemingly endless piles of sand and rock, the orange-y glow lit up the desert and it was almost…well, _romantic_.

Each teen's features caught the light differently. Artemis' long yellow hair became even more bright and golden even though it was dusted with a layer of dirt. Her green outfit and mask were also slightly grimy and one of her pant legs were ripped up to the knee pad. The archer had removed her mask, and it was on the ground, next to the bow she gripped on to.

Wally was propped up against her, asleep and snoring. Legs and arms extended, his bright suit was also illuminated by the sun, along with his messy and flaming red hair. Wally, or someone, had unmasked his face as well, showing a burn from when he had been unconscious in the sun.

Next to him was Robin. Still masked and awake, he sat with his legs crossed and his hands supporting his head; deep in thought. He seemed to be glaring at a rock in front of him- searching for its weaknesses and planning his next offensive strike. However, he had no current awareness of his surroundings. The 13 year old was in a world of his own: using the knowledge he had to figure out a solution to their predicament as he waited for M'gann to complete her task.

Kaldur, too, was in a world of his own. Laying on his back, she could hear him address _someone_ his foreign language. The emotion he put into his unconscious and mumbled rants differed greatly from when he spoke to his team mates with so much composure in English. As aqua lad's amphibious body could not muster the energy to move, his face embodied his emotions; eyebrows knit together, and eyelids changing between a forced and relaxed shut.

An indention of the boulder shielded superboy from the sun's rays as he kept one leg extended and rested his arm on the other leg that was retracted close to his body. He was slouched over and playing with rocks in the sand. The black t-shirt was grimy and wrinkled, and-

"M'gann?" He was staring at her. She blushed again.

"Sorry, going back to work now."

Megan continued to work. Hours passed, and darkness filled the sky along with an array of twinkling stars. The chill of the desert overcame the heat, and before long she joined the others- collapsed on the ground, asleep.

**Author's Note****- Please feel free to do a review if you'd like me to write on a certain character/pairing more! I plan to start designating some chapters to certain pairs (I was wanting to do a birdflash (Robin/Kid Flash)...) but these chapters wouldn't be essential to the story so you could skip over them if you didn't agree with a pairing. Let me know what you think :)**


	5. Chapter 5

The pounding in the archer's head was back and, well, _pounding_. Artemis shielded her eyes from the morning sun and stretched her arms. Her hand was stiff and cracked as she unclenched her fingers from the bow. A certain red head fell into her lap, causing her to jump. She considered yelling at him, but hardly had enough strength to nudge him awake. With a punch, of course.

"Hey, Walls. Get-" she cut herself off when she noticed something was very wrong. _Where is everyone?_

Indentions in the sand made it clear she hadn't just imagined the 4 other heroes. _Did they just…disappear?_ Artemis lifted the teen and slid out from under him.

Dizzy from dehydration, her legs nearly buckled beneath her until she leaned against the boulder. The blonde's vision began to blur and darken. _Get it together._

To her left, a dark figure ran past. "Guys? Hello?" she gripped her bow and selected an arrow from her quiver. The figure ran again- this time on her right. She prepared the arrow and braced herself- pulling back ever so slightly...

"Hey_, sis_." The eerie female voice came from behind.

_No._

The heroin's heart raced and she turned. Fueled by adrenaline, she pulled and released with a vicious speed. The arrow pierced the dark figure and flew through her like smoke. Before disappearing completely, Artemis caught glimpse of only a white mask smiling a familiar, mischievous grin like…like the Cheshire cat.

[_Artemis! What are you doing?!_]

[_M'gann? I…where were you guys?_] She turned to see the rest of her team looking concerned and far more energized than the day before.

"The bioship opened. What were you looking at?" Robin assessed her position and minor lack of sanity. "Did you just shoot something?"

"I, uh, yeah. I thought I saw…something. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"We did not want to disturb you and Wally." Kaldur replied. Robin snickered. _Kaldur? When did he…_

"Is there water? Food?!"

"Yup!" Megan was cheery again. Great.

…

When Wally was informed about the food he almost ran halfway before falling. On his face.

"Idiot." Artemis laughed. She and Robin each took an arm and propped him up, assisting Wally to the oasis that awaited him in the martian ship. Inside, cases of bottled water and a feast of freeze-dried non-perishable foods awaited.

When he finished his fifth can of peaches and third package of crackers, Wally began to slow his intake and feel satisfied. Also, he knew Robin was considering rations and his eyes had been piercing the teen with the Bat stare. "Ahhhh, that hit the spot…For now, I guess. So, what's the plan, Rob?"

"First thing's first- we need to find out where we are; get some sort of handling on our location and figure it out from there. All of our tech is down- no communicators, GPS, tracking...As long as we still have medical supplies, water, and food" he directed his voice at Kid Flash, "we should be fine."

"We know where we are." Conner spoke, arms crossed. "A desert. Isn't that all that matters? We need to figure out why we're here and who put us here. Maybe we're not alone."

"Yes, and to do that we need to first take a look around. Some of us can go on a scouting mission and _then_ we can set up some kind of perimeter."

"I agree with Robin." Kaldur sat on one of the bioship's chairs, still weak from such an extended time away from water. "If we do in fact need an offense, we must first establish a defense and a solid comprehension of the terrain."

"Then it's settled. Wally, you and I will scout out the north."

"Aye aye, captain!" Wally grinned. "…I'll shut up now."

"Good. Artemis and M'gann, do you guys think you can cover the south?"

"Yeah, sure." Artemis hadn't really been paying attention. Instead, she couldn't get that masked face out of her head. That _smile_…_Sis._

"So, what, I'm just supposed to sit here?!" Superboy raised his voice, once again becoming defensive. "Guard the water bottles?"

"That, or you can go with the girls. I really don't care." Over the years, Robin had acquired a talent for holding his ground against larger and stronger men. "But those water bottles are our only chance for survival, making them equally, if not _more_ important than scouting the area."

Superboy let out a low grumble and re-crossed his arms.

"And, uh, Aqua lad, I thought it'd be best for you to stay here due to your current position…"

"Of course."

Robin nodded. "Ok, M'gann, have you set up a telepathic link?"

"Yep."

"Good. We'll report back here at noon. Inform the group about _anything_ you find."

Then, the Team dispersed- unaware of the slim chance of their survival, and the even smaller chance that their sanity will survive along with them, the heroes set off to meet a challenge they could have never trained for.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ok, stop, this is humiliating!" Robin shouted over the wind that rushed past himself and the speedster. In order to save time, the boy wonder agreed to let himself be carried, but each step Wally took was a blow to his ego. "You're going too fast to see anything! C'mon, dude, just put me down!"

Wally screeched to a halt, kicking up dirt and leaving behind a trail of dust. He dropped the smaller of the two and caught his breathe. "What do you suggest? If you walk it's going to take all day."

Robin sighed. "Just slow down a bit, ok? We're helping no one by missing something."

"Oh, yeah, good point. I thought that rock over there _did_ look suspi—what are you looking at? Is my suit ripped again?!"

"What? No. But what is that doing in the desert?" Robin pointed at a flower- a deep, almost alien blue, speckled with silver and…_glowing_?

"That plant? Oh, I don't know, probably photosynthesis." Wally teased, and then saw the boy wonder actually wasn't joking. "Are you serious? Dude, it's harmless. I think we can move on." But the red head didn't move. He just stood there, staring into the petals…the deep, blue, _alluring…_

"Hey, Wally? You still there?" The teen waved a hand in front of his best friend's gaze.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, can we go now?"

"Just wait, I need a sample." Robin searched his utility belt and pulled out a small vile. Carefully, he collected the bits of leaf. When he moved to tear a sample from the petals, the plant seemed to retract. He paused, and then quickly tore off a miniscule section of blue.

"_Dude_!"

Instantaneously, the speckles of silver released a blue powder into a mushroom cloud of the unknown substance. Robin quickly jumped back from the blossom, pushing the other teen down with him. "Get back!" He coughed, and fanned the remaining dust away from his face.

"What _was_ that?! Did you breathe it?"

Robin was still coughing, hardly able to get out the words "I'm fine," but reached into the cloud quickly to retrieve his samples. He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Just a harmless plant," he smirked. "Let's keep moving."

…

Miss Martian had been in the air, and Artemis trailing behind on the ground, for nearly two hours now. The heat was relentless, and caused the horizon to become a white glare as the sun caught the sand.

"M'gann!" Artemis decided not to use the telepathic link to avoid disturbing the others. The martian stopped and glided down to the archer's position.

"Are you ok? Do you think we should start heading back?" M'gann asked, still unaffected by the temperature.

Artemis took a sip from her water bottle. "Nah, I'm fine, but I thought we should maybe change direction and circle our way back. If we keep going we're just going to end up wasting energy and resources…Er, atleast I am."

"Yeah, of course."

Artemis started in a new direction, and then stopped. "Are you gonna…" she motioned upward. "...Take off?"

"Oh. Well, I just thought I'd stay down here with you. It…gets kind of lonely up there."

"Be my guest."

They walked a couple minutes in silence, occasionally pausing to take a look around with binoculars. Nothing but sand, dirt, and rock.

Eventually, Megan broke the silence. "Sooo, are you and Wally…?"

"…Me and Wally what?" She saw her friend smiling. "Eww, no."

More silence.

"Ok, I mean, I don't know."

M'gann was intrigued. "You don't know?"

"He's just always so…_Ugh_."

"Was that a bad 'Ugh' or a good 'Ugh'?"

No response.

[_Hello?! Guys?_] Speak of the devil.

[_What, Wally?_]

[_We have a slightly major problem_.]

[_…Are you guys ok_?]

[_No. Well, I mean, I am. It's Rob- there was this stupid plant and he just _had_ to take samples and-_] Kid Flash's mental voice turned into gibberish as it ran to fast for anyone to comprehend.

[_Slow down Wally, we can't understand you_] Megan spoke with her hand to her head, clearly having trouble psychically handling his over-abundance of words.

He paused. [_Robin's not ok. I'm not sure if I can carry him back…_]

[_Is he hurt?_]

[_Not _physically_, but he's just…lost it. I'm having trouble keeping track of him._]

[_How close are you and Robin to the bioship?_] Kaldur joined the conversation.

[_I…have no idea. I got lost chasing him…now what's he doing?! Hey!_]

There was a brief silence. M'gann and Artemis were still.

[_Whoops, sorry, that was supposed to be out loud._]

[_I'm coming_] Superboy insisted.

Artemis sighed. [_We're on our way back- be there in half an hour, tops._]

[_I should be able to psychically sense your position, but I just have to get close enough…_] the martian sounded unsure, but was glad she would finally be able to help save her friends.

[_Cool._] Wally paused to comfort a hysterical Robin. [_And, guys? Please hurry_.]


	7. Chapter 7

His insanity came in waves. One minute of being Robin's semi-normal self soon turned to violent moods swings, which then channeled into physical anger. Or, perhaps, panic. Either way, Wally was always on the receiving end of the boy wonder's condition.

"Ugh, ok, we're still in the desert. You got us lost, and I have no idea where the bioship is." Wally repeated. Again. With each wave, Robin seemed to lose his memory of the past hours. However, he always responded the same.

"It's the plant. You need to take the samples and find out what this…"

"Dude, again, I have _no_ idea where the ship is. Superboy and the girls should be on their way, but that might take hours. Unless you have a lab set somewhere in that belt…"

"Wally." The thirteen year old looked up, and, even with his mask, his eyes seemed so piercing; so _sad_. "I can't take this anymore. I hate this, and I hate going off at you. Can you just knock me out, now?"

_Was this another mood swing?_

"What? No! Dude, don't worry about me- I can handle it. I take down grown men for a living, remember?"

Truthfully, Wally was unsure if he could take any more of Robin's kicks, let alone a full on assault. He'd been able to restrain and dodge most of the hits, but one good swing at his face had given him a bloody nose and possibly a black eye. However, if he ever started using his worryingly high amounts of explosives… "Hey, buddy? Uh, Dick?"

The teen had gotten silent, staring back at the red head. With no warning, his facial expression turned from utter disappointment to fear. The fear then magnified to a crippling scream that caused the Kid Flash to wince and take a step back. Robin then collapsed; his hands to his face, he stared back up at his friend, and screamed again.

"_Jeez_, Rob, it's ok…" Wally took a step towards him, and the other teen moved back_. Is he scared of…me?_

_Maybe the heat combined with that plant is making him delirious, and—_

Another heart wrenching scream. Robin was no longer focused on Wally, but curled into a ball in the dirt and rock. And…_crying_? He shook, and tears seemed to be getting under his mask and falling to the gravel.

For a moment, Wally was stunned. Watching his team mate breakdown in front of him, he tried to decide the best course of action. He had never been a comforting person, but if there was ever a time to start…

The speedster knelt down and spoke softly. "Shhh, hey, we're fine. No one's going to hurt you. You know what? I bet the other's are almost here. We just have to stay put and…stay calm."

"Bruce?"

Wally stopped, and then understood the cause of this behavior: Robin was having a flashback.

"No, Robin- I'm Wally. Kid Flash? Um, you know me, right?" Unsure how far in the past Robin was reliving, the older teen treaded carefully.

The other boy searched his memories. "We've done a few missions together, I remember," he looked around, and got to his feet- keeping his distance from Wally, "I think. Where's Batman and the Flash? Where are we?"

"We're in the desert…On a mission. We got lost, but we need to get back to the…ship."

Robin looked at him suspiciously. "Why don't I remember? What are we doing here?"

"We're just…collecting samples- of plants. Or, you were. If you'll just follow me- _Ouch! Jesus!_ What was that for?!"

The teen had swung at his team mate, striking the right side of his face. Putting his hand up to his ear, he attempted to use the non-functional communicator. "Batman, it's Robin. Come in."

"The coms aren't working, man. Just come with me- maybe we can get your memory- Hey! Stop!"

Robin was now sprinting away- down the current dune of sand they were on. "Don't follow me!" He reached back and released a canister of smoke, blinding Wally and vanishing into the desert.

_Not again._

[_Wally! We're here…where's Robin?_] M'gann swooped down to his position, shortly followed by Superboy and a sprinting Artemis.

"About that. I sort of…lost him."

"You _lost_ him?" Artemis was still catching her breath.

"Yeah, ok? I lost him, but only after he attacked me!" Wally pointed to his still red and bleeding cheek. "He's insane, he thinks he's on a mission with Br—Batman. We need to find him before he hurts someone or himself. Here," he handed Artemis the vile. "You should get these samples to Kaldur; maybe he can analyze it and figure a way to fix this."

She grabbed the samples. "Fine."

"Thanks, Sugar."

Artemis rolled her eyes and began to head back to the ship, but stopped and looked back. "Just be safe, ok?"

Wally wasn't sure if she was addressing him or the group, but he nodded. _I'll try._


	8. Chapter 8

_Darnit! I just repaired this thing, like, last month!...Or last year… _

Wally stood in the valley of two sand dunes- admiring a tear in his suit that had formed on the inside of his right thigh. Due to the circumstances, the Kid Flash had increased his usual speed in order to cover more ground, and the small tear had now grown to a noticeable three inch rip. Also, his sewing skills were…questionable.

To his left, a thundering _BOOM_ shot up a cloud of sand, and Superboy appeared- standing in a crater. "What are you doing?"

Wally looked up from the hole in his suit, casually hiding the tear with his leg. "I, uh, nothing. Have you found anything?"

"No. And it's almost night."

The sun was nearly touching the horizon, but had already begun to cast out an orange glare "Oh, yeah, I didn't notice. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any granola bars in those pockets, would you?"

Conner raised an eyebrow. "No. If you're hungry you should go back to the bioship. We can't carry you and look for Robin."

"I'm fine…What? Do you see something?" Wally turned around, but only saw the desert. However, Conner still looked as if he as examining a piece of evidence. "Oh, right. _Super_boy. I don't see anything- what is it?"

Superboy launched himself into the sky and landed a few hundred yards away. Wally sighed, and ran to him.

"Look." Conner pointed to the ground, where a black, Robin-less mask lay in the dirt.

_Oh no._ "This is serious."

"Shh. Do you hear that?" Superboy stood still, and turned to face the dune on his left. "Sounds like _crying_."

_That'd be our Rob_. Wally raced in that direction, and stopped before tripping over a small, caped, and Robin sized lump of emotion. Cape torn, the hero's uniform was coated in grime. Cuts and bruises varying in size covered his body. _Jeez_. His condition looked as if he just underwent a fist-to-fist battle with either himself or the rocks. And lost. "What'd you _do_ to yourself, man?"

As soon as the boy noticed his friends, his sun burnt and mask-less face turned from despair to, once again, rage. His naked blue eyes looked out of place with his uniform, but added to the look of crazy. Without thinking, the boy wonder lifted himself off of the ground, and lunged at the Kid Flash.

Wally jumped back, but Conner intercepted the attack and pinned Robin to the ground. "Robin, calm down. It's us."

"Yeah- tried that." [_Guys- this is Wally, good news: we found Robin, but he's_ _still-_]

[_Hey Walls, did you say something about a plant?_] Artemis demanded, even her telepathy sounded anxious.

[_Well, I believe I specifically called it a 'stupid plant', but yeah._]

[_Blue and silver? That's what poisoned Robin?_]

[_Yep and yep. Why do you ask, babe?_]

[_I think we might have another problem. A REALLY bad problem_.]

…

The archer stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the valley of blue that seemed to have just appeared between her and the bioship. Or was she…lost?

_No- I know where I am..._

Beneath her feet, the ground shook and collapsed- crashing down into the field of poisonous blossoms. Artemis leaped to sturdy ground, but barely grabbed onto a protruding boulder half way down the cliff. With one hand securing her safety and the other gripping her bow, Artemis dangled over a valley of imminent death.

As the rocks crushed the flowers, a cloud of blue powder rose from beneath her. She desperately looked for another hand grip to pull her to safety. Two feet above her head was a shelf, and she took her chances; using all strength to push and propel her body from one rock to the next.

However, the cloud was too quick. Her legs were now surrounded by powder, and it rose to her shoulders and then to her head. Unable to hold her breath any longer, Artemis tried desperately to scale the wall of rock.

[_Guys! Help!_]

As she lost her grip, the blonde gasped- inhaling lung-fulls of the poison. When all hope was lost, a red gloved hand gripped her's, and dragged Artemis to a more stable ground.

The two teens caught their breath, and she coughed- already beginning to feel the psychological effects of the plant.

Now the archer definitely knew where she was: _hell._

"You're welcome." Wally said as a smirk grew on his face.

...

**Author's Note-**** Thanks for all the review so far! And in regards to the 'superboy shielded from the sun' thing, I understand that that makes no sense (seeing as he would become stronger in the sun). I guess I was just trying to be more descriptive and try to make him seem...well, I have no idea what I was trying to do. Anyways, thanks for pointing that out, and I'll be sure to be more accurate in the future :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Each time Superboy landed, every cut and bruise on the boy wonder's body stung. The poison continued to cloud his mind, and while Superboy carried the hero to relative safety, Robin only saw him as an enemy. The teen kicked and struggled, but Miss Martian telekinetically bound his hands and feet.

_What did I get myself into? Where's Batman? My mask? Why don't I remember- _Robin's drugged mind failed to form a complete memory, but instead relied on the Bat training etched into his every fiber. His mind became a machine- factoring out each possible escape and strategy. He _must_ escape. _Survive_.

…

"Soo, think you can move? Not like I'm not fine right here…" Wally watched the archer carefully wrap her ankle—damaged from the fall. Unaware of how much poison she had actually ingested, he prepared himself for any effect it could have. Violent or otherwise…

"I'm fine." Artemis lifted herself from the ground, and used her bow as a support. She tested her ankle, and while it caused her an immense amount of pain, she remained standing. "I can make it back on my own, but you need to get these to Kaldur." In her hand was a small glass vile containing the poisonous samples.

Wally took it, but didn't move. "Artemis, I'm not leaving you. If what happened to Rob happens to you…"

"Well I'm not Robin, am I? I'll be _fine_. Now g—" As she stepped forward, an overwhelming pain shot up from the injured ankle, and Artemis' legs collapsed beneath her.

"See? You're _not_ fine." Wally knelt down and supported her back- offering a hand.

"I _DON'T_ NEED YOU'RE HELP- LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Wally flinched and pulled his hands back. "Sorry, uh, my bad."

They sat for a few minutes in silence on the cliff's edge.

"Ok, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you. It's just those…_stupid_ plants, and…"

Wally looked at Artemis and saw her expression change just as rapidly as his other drugged friend. Her eyes widened and stared back at him.

Bracing for an assualt, Wally prepared himself to block against any one of her attacks. "Artemis—"

Before he could finish, Artemis leaned closer and kissed him.

Wally didn't budge- frozen with shock. _Was this the poison, or..._He knew she wasn't acting consciously, but he didn't resist. Instead, as she reached around his neck to pull him in closer, he complied and kissed the archer back.

…

M'gann stopped when she no longer felt the strain against her telekinesis. Robin's squirming had ceased, and she could no longer see Conner.

[_Superboy? Are you ok?_]

No reply. [_Super-_]

[_Yeah, M'gann, I'm fine, but Robin just knocked himself out_.]

[_He_ what?]

[_He's_ _unconscious- just went limp. Still breathing, but his pulse is low._ _Should I-_-] Conner's telepathy faded out into white noise as he, too, lost consciousness.

[_Conner? Superboy?!...Kaldur, are you there?_]

[_Yes, M'gann. What has happened?_]

[_I think Robin and Superboy are unconscious. I can try to find them telepathically, but I'm not sure if_—]

[_I am on my way. Where are Wally and Artemis?_]

[_Artemis went to bring you some samples an hour ago, and Wally went to go check on her…_]

[_Yeah!_ _Uh, yeah_, _I found her- we're fine guys_.] Wally's mental voice sounded rushed- _preoccupied_. [_Well, actually she was exposed to the poison, but she's, uh, fine so far. _More_ than fine, actually_.]

[_Ok, Superboy and Robin should be maybe a couple miles behind me, so I'll start to…Wait! I'm picking up something…_]

For a brief moment, the telepathic line was silent. M'gann was beginning to once again sense the kryptonian's blurry, yet noticeable, presence. He was much further away than she had thought. [_Conner, can you hear me?_]

Another silent pause.

[_I-I don't think he's fully conscious, but I think I have his position—_]

The martian froze as a crippling scream rose from the dunes of sand behind her. _Superboy_. She turned in the air to see a multiple small explosions blossom and light up the night. _Robin._

[_Uh, did you guys hear that, too?_] Wally spoke when the thundering booms quieted.

The desert was once again dark, and a chill overcame the heat. For a brief, blissful moment, no more screams filled the air, and no more explosions lit the sand. However, the violence of that night had hardly ceased.


	10. Chapter 10

When the nightmare began, M'gann found refuge in the bioship. Gathering her thoughts, she attempted to get a handle on her telepathy. Megan had never struggled so badly with her abilities, but the blossom's poison weakened her mind. Each thought, memory, and action was shrouded in confusion.

Conner yelled, and once again slammed against the ship's outer wall. Miss Martian jumped. Hearing him scream and act with such rage was heartbreaking, but with each blow M'gann's memory of her team mate faded. While she hadn't come in contact with the blue blossoms, she feared the others had triggered such a widespread release of the toxin even the atmosphere around them was contaminated.

Superboy attacked again- this time creating an indention on the bioship's exterior. However, Megan no longer remembered him as Conner, but an unknown enemy trying to get to her. Trying to _kill_ her.

The martian was lucky. While she still held onto a sliver of sanity, her team mates suffered far worse symptoms. As far as she knew, the other teens were still lost in the labyrinth of sand and stone- confused and dangerous.

_I failed them, _she thought- until the ship's wall took another blow, and the last memory of her teammates vanished along with her luck.

…

Artemis looked the masked figure in the eyes, and shot again.

Cheshire seemed to dodge each arrow with a super-human speed, but the heroine only adapted to match.

"Where am I? Why did you bring me here?" Artemis dodged another kick.

"Wouldn't you like to know, _sis_." In a blur of dark green, the kimono clad woman tackled her sister, and pinned her onto the gravel. The mask grinned. _Mocking me_.

A terrifying mixture of anger and adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream. _I will NOT lose to you_. With one swift movement, the blonde gripped her bow and knocked the older of the two off of her and onto the ground. She wrestled her, and pinned each of Cheshire's arms down with her knees. Preparing her bow with another blunt arrow, Artemis asked once again, "Where am I?"

"Artemis, it's _me_!" the person beneath her looked up with a look of fear and concern. She no longer aimed at Cheshire, but a red haired boy wearing a skin tight yellow and red suit. _Wally?_

…

Kid Flash noticed the archer fought with a ferocity and rage that he had never seen her display. _Why can't we just go back to kissing again? _Still suffering from the plant's powder, she performed each strike with surprising strength and accuracy. Regardless of her broken ankle. However, as the heroine fought, she didn't seem like she intended to kill him, but more…_personal_.

Seeing a chance, Wally leapt forward and held her to the ground. "Artemis, you have to stop! It's me, _Wally_. I don't want to hurt you, but—"

Artemis grimaced, and Wally was thrown to the ground as she struck him with her bow. Pulling back another arrow, her expression softened. Rage changed confusion, and then terror.

"Wally?! What…How—"

"Hey, it's ok. You're not yourself; it's the plant. It makes you lose your memory. And, well, go crazy, but…"

Artemis stood up, and quickly sat down beside Wally; assessing her ankle. It had been dark for a few hours now, but he could still see the worried look on her face.

"Are…_you_ ok?"

"Yeah, I just though I saw, uh, someone else."

"Cheshire."

Her eyes widened. "What? How did you—"

"Lucky guess." He smirked. Actually, Artemis had addressed him as the villainness several times as she was attacking the teen. He didn't question her secrets, but got to his feet and dusted himself off "We need to find the ship. Who knows where the others are. Or if they're even themselves. Here," he held out a hand.

Artemis paused, but then reached out and grabbed his hand. Wally bent down, and picked up the injured heroine. The toxins were only beginning to fog his mind, but the teen didn't care. Sprinting away from the canyon, Wally had only one goal-

_Protect Artemis._

…

Robin sat- perched on the top of a boulder. Coms were still offline, and his tech was also unable to operate. He scanned the area, unsure of what he could encounter in this wasteland, and saw only miles of sand. However, every ten feet beautiful blue flowers grew from the ground.

His uniform was torn, and his skin was bruised and bleeding. Only a small fraction of his bottled water remained, and the boy wonder figured that he could survive a maximum of, perhaps, 48 more hours. In order to possibly increase that time, the teen decided to travel during night and rest in the heat. If the day even came, that is; he seemed to be wandering the dark for years.

"Hello?" A male voice spoke from the darkness behind Robin. He swiveled, stood, and braced for battle. "Robin."

The speaker was tall, dark skinned, and muscular. His arms were wrapped in strange tattoos, and on his neck were…gills?

He stepped back- still without his mask. "Who are you?"

"It's me, Aqua lad- Kaldur. What do you remember?"

Robin looked suspiciously at 'Kaldur'. "What have you done to Batman? My tech? Did you drug me?"

"No, Robin, and Batman is not here. We are here as a team- you, me, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian and Superboy. You have been exposed to a poison from these plants which causes memory loss as well as hallucinations."

The dark haired teen _did_ in fact remember, but with each memory he regained, he felt pain. Pain as the memories rushed into his mind, and pain from what he had done to his team mates. To his _best friend._

Robin walked over to Kaldur, no longer confused.

"We have to save the others."


	11. Chapter 11

Wally tripped again- stumbling on his feet before catching his balance. The archer had fallen asleep in his arms sometime during the night, but the Kid Flash kept running_. _Arm wrapped around his neck, Artemis gripped onto her bow as if she held onto her life. Unsure if she still suffered the effects of the poison, he let her sleep. Sleeping was _far_ better than fighting, and Wally risked the inevitable ranting that would follow to see Artemis be at peace- happy and ignorant of their situation. At least for this moment.

Weaving between boulders and groups of the toxic flower, Wally once again felt the pain of hunger. His thoughts strayed back to the last can of peaches he ate, and his stomach growled. Wally yawned, and his legs had grown numb. However, running on adrenaline, they continued to propel him forward. Forward into an unknown location. A _salvation_. The toxins slowly ate away at his sanity, but he didn't care. _ I need to keep running. Find the ship. Be Faster…Faster…Fast—_

As his feet carried him over another dune, Kid Flash ran himself to drifting asleep. However, Wally continued to run. For miles, the hero unconsciously traveled at a non-human speed to an unknown destination. 

…

Robin cherished the last drop of his water bottle, and then returned to the stark and terrifying reality- they were lost.

Aqualad had lead him through the maze of sand to his best knowledge, but they now sat on the peak of a dune and considered their next course of action. The sun had begun to rise and cast a ray of gold over the desert. However, Batman had not trained him to analyze the beauty of a sunrise. Robin was trained to fight, think, and protect the ones he loved: each of which he had failed to do correctly during this 'mission'.

"We should head south. Given the odds that we are still north of the bioship- that is our best chance." Kaldur spoke like a leader; resisting the symptoms of the plant. He held out a small compass Robin kept in his belt.

"Sounds good."

The two stood, and walked along the top of the sand dunes.

"Hey, Kaldur, while I was…out of it, did I—"

"You can't blame yourself for the things you did when you were poisoned, Robin. You were not yourself."

Robin nodded.

With the sun to their left, the two heroes trekked the desert. The first warm breeze of the day came across the desert, and the beauty of the land was lost to them. Only one thought occupied their minds: _Save the Team_.

…

Artemis felt the pain in her broken ankle, and woke up before her entire body crashed into the ground. She slid several feet and then rolled to a halt. Standing quickly, the blonde looked for an attacker before spotting Wally.

The Kid Flash was still unconscious, but his legs moved as if he were still running.

"Wally! Hey, wake up." She gently nudged him, and then punched his arm. The red head sat up abruptly.

"Wha— unghh… Artemis! Are you ok?"

"Yeah. You've been running all night."

"Oh, huh, must've dozed off." Wally tried to stand, but the pain in his legs and feet only allowed him to squat and return to laying the ground. Artemis crossed her arms, and looked at him judgingly. "I'll just need to rest here for a bit, then I'll be in top…well, mediocre condition."

The sun had fully breached the horizon and returned the heat to the desert. Artemis' uniform was torn in various places, and was covered in a layer of dust- light brown and blue from either the desert or plant's powder. Her thick blonde hair had begun to knot, but maintained a long tight ponytail.

Wally, however, looked far less stunning; his hair and suit caked with grime. While discolored by the dirt, his hair still appeared fiery orange. The small rip on his right inner thigh had grown to a six inch tear, but the Kid Flash no longer cared. As the survival of himself and his loved ones became top priority, Wally disregarded his own appearance and well being for the sake of the Team. For his blonde archer.

To his right, two figures approached them- bent over and staggering slightly in the heat. The sun illuminated their faces, and Wally grinned- once again, he had hope. "Rob! Kaldur!"

Artemis stood and, before greeting their lost friends, stopped them with the tip of her bow. "How do we know they're…_them_?"

"Artemis, we are ourselves. I haven't been directly poisoned by the plants, and Robin's symptoms have primarily worn off. You can trust us."

She dropped her bow, and hugged each of the heroes

"Ok, that was unexpected." Robin squinted his eyes. "Are you sure _you_ are you?"

"Sorry. I just didn't think I'd see you guys…"

"Alive?"

She nodded.

"Ok, so, not like I'm not all for big reunions, but we really need to find wild-boy and Megan." Wally spoke from the ground. "And the bioship. And…_food_.

"Here." Kaldur tossed a package of crackers to Wally- who gladly ripped them open and inhaled every crumb. "I agree, Superboy seemed to be severely affected by the toxin, and I have not been able to communicate psychically to M'gann. We can only hope that they have not found each other. Or—"

A thundering, kryptonian yell came from the south. The team mates froze.

Wally finished chewing. "I guess that'd be a good place to look."

….

**Author's Note****- Well, it looks like I'll be uploading kind of infrequently over the next few days, but I plan to bring this to a (satisfying) conclusion before the end of next week. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and feel free to write a review!**

**[Thanks for all of the encouraging and positive reviews I've received so far! They really make my day :) ] **


	12. Chapter 12

The martian accessed her telepathy by reflex, and intruded the mind of her attacker. He was a muscular and, she noticed, exceptionally handsome. M'gann knew he was far stronger than her, physically, but he appeared to be human. Then again, she was also in a human form. Saving her confusion for a more convenient time, she now focused on his consciousness which opened before her. Sensing the intrusion, the boy fell to his knees, grasped his head, and screamed.

M'gann saw his memories were also blurred. Scrambled by some unknown entity, his thoughts were primal and instinctive. He didn't want to harm her, but instead understand her. He feared this confusion as much as she. He feared _her_. She dug deeper; sifting through the masses of his primitive thoughts. _Where are you from? Why are you here? Why am _I_ here?_

When she finally arrived to a structured memory, she was momentarily stunned by its sheer intensity. It's _beauty_. M'gann was transported further into the mind of the teen, and she saw the male's most blissful moment through his own eyes. Her senses were temporarily replaced by his own:

_"See, the moon!" Kid Flash pointed towards a night sky, to an overwhelmingly spectacular sight. A bright moon glowed among an array of tinier lights, and the clone was overtaken by the view. Stunned- because for the first time in his existence, Superboy was content. He saw beauty, and he basked in its wonder. However, a shadow appeared in its brilliance, and grew closer. "Oh, _and_ Superman. Do we keep our promises or what?"_

The bliss of the memory ended, as well as her hold on the boy.

"Get out of my _head_!" He growled, and regained a more understandable method of communication.

" 'Superboy'? Is that your name?" He winced, as if experiencing a sharp pain. "I don't want to hurt you, I just—"

He ran at her again, once again looking primal and enraged. M'gann stuck out her arm, caught the teen in a hold of telekinesis, and lifted him into the air. Superboy wreathed around and swung his limbs to try and break free of this invisible force. He winced again, and held still. "_M'gann_?"

The name struck a nerve, and caused a flooding of memories into her mind. "_Conner_?!" With the memories and understanding came a sharp sting that overtook her mind for a brief moment, and her telekinesis failed. Superboy crashed into the desert beneath him.

…

As the other members of the Team spot a cloud of dust emerge before them, they only expect the worst.

Robin aimed his binoculars at the location, and grinned. "Found it."

Wally took the binoculars, and also saw their destination ahead; the bioship. His face brightened, but grew darker when he spotted another obstacle blocking them from their goal. "Yeah, just one _minor_ problem…"

A line of stunning blue separated the heroes from relative safety. It stretched the entire horizon with no visible end.

Artemis groaned. "How fast can those _stupid_ plants grow?"

"They do appear to be becoming more prevalent. The flowers were definitely not there when I had left." Kaldur now held the binoculars.

As the heroes approached the overwhelming sight, the line of blossoms had become a near-mile wide cluster which contained enough of the toxin to bring each of the teens to their demise. Artemis mumbled some profanities, but Robin and Kaldur each began to silently conjure up possible solutions to yet another life threatening problem.

"Oh, I got it!" Wally shouted. The other heroes turned, and listened skeptically. "How many explosive arrows to you have left, beautiful?"

Artemis crossed her arms. "That depends; what's your plan?"

"The plants' poison is only air-born, right?

Robin nodded. "I'm pretty sure, but until we can run tests on—"

"So if there was, say, an explosion?"

"Then the toxins would all be released into the atmosphere, but I don't…_Ooh!_ But do you really think you can…?"

"You _know_ I can."

"_Sweet!_" The best friends high-fived, looking incredibly pleased with their plan.

The other two looked…less pleased. "Ok, so, what just happened? You can do _what_?"

Wally turned to Artemis and smirked. "That depends, babe; how many arrows do you have?"


	13. Chapter 13

Another explosion, and mountains of blue powder filled the air. Wally struggled to hold his breath while he ran, but resisted inhaling the toxins. As he sped to the cloud, Kid Flash created a funnel of wind that shot the blue higher into the atmosphere until it was no longer visible. Next, Wally ran clear of the blossoms, stood by his team mates, and admired his work.

When the fumes cleared, Wally cheered. "Woo! That makes about 20 feet of pathway cleared, and…" He sighed. "Only about 200 more."

"Wally, I can't waste my arrows on this." Artemis' quiver held 36 arrows- 18 being trick arrows, and even less were explosive. Three were now spent on this figurative mine field of plants.

"She's right, dude. At this rate we'll only make it a quarter of the way." Robin massaged his temples, feeling his mask which Wally had returned to him.

Wally looked dejected. "Yeah, I know. But hey, if anyone suddenly has another brilliant idea, feel free to—"

"_Ugh_!" Artemis kicked the ground. "I this is _ridiculous_! After all we've been through- Bane, the freaking _shadows_- we're bested by some stupid _flowers_?! All because _you,_"she motioned towards Robin, "_had_ to lead us out into this deathtrap!"

Robin took a step back, confused by Artemis' sudden anger. "I…"

"He couldn't help it, Artemis." Wally stepped between her and the boy wonder. "Correct me if I wrong, but you were just as out-of-it not too long ago!"

"Atleast _I_ didn't endanger all of your lives: unlike little mister 'stroll off a few hundred yards from the bioship' over here!"

"Atleast _he_ wasn't trying to kill me!"

"I never tried to kill you…"

"Oh that's right. Who was it? _Cheshire_?!"

"Don't say her name." Artemis spoke though her teeth; gripping her bow and clenching her fist. Kaldur stood aside, deciding a course of action to settle his friends. However, he was also struggling to not feel angry. Confused to feel this rage which was silently affecting him.

Wally stepped closer to the archer. "Why? Why do you care about _Cheshire _so much, _Artemis_?!"

The archer stepped closer and raised her fist

Robin stepped out from behind the taller boy. "What is _with_ you guys?!"

The two stopped and looked at the thirteen year old.

"Just minutes ago you seemed like you would _die_ for each other! Artemis, who just carried you for hours because of your ankle? And Wally, who are you really trying to save right now? I don't know if it's the poison, but you guys don't hate each other. Refuse it all you want, but you _need_ each other."

Artemis' cheeks grew red, and Wally looked at the ground. Either from shame or embarrassment, neither of them spoke.

Kaldur placed a hand on Wally's shoulder. "I believe we're all suffering the effects of the toxins. Even I'm not feeling…myself. However, we are a team, and we must focus on finding solution. For the sake of survival, we need to resist the poison. For the sake of M'gann and superboy, we _need_ to continue."

The three teens nodded, and thought of their team mates. A far as they knew, the martian and kryptonian were still lost. Confused and poisoned, the two were a danger to themselves and each other.

…

After nearly an hour of flight, M'gann had reached uncharted territory. However, miles ahead of her sat the fence: A barrier which separated her from uncovering the mystery that had originally attracted herself and the Team to this death trap. M'gann knew what lay behind it, as she had regained her memory. She knew _everything_.

Behind her, Conner landed; causing another crater and cloud of sand. [_Is everything ok?_ _Do you see it?_]

[_Yeah- we're almost there_.]

[_Are you sure we shouldn't save them first?_]

[_Only what's in there can save them, but we need to hurry_.]

Conner hadn't yet remembered everything, but he trusted M'gann. For the sake of the Team's survival, Superboy jumped again and left the others in the midst of danger.


	14. Chapter 14

Conner stood, facing a chain-link fence with a height tall enough to encage a t-rex. The wall emitted a light, barely audible, buzzing sound. Though, with Superboy's enhanced hearing, the electric noise filled his head. About ten feet up, a neon yellow sign read "_DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE._" To his left was a gate- closed and locked with chains in three various places which he could easily tear through. However, he leaped into the air, only to collide with an invisible barrier; sending him back to the gravel.

[_Conner! Don't—_] M'gann arrived behind him, too late to stop the alarm that now rung through the air.

On the other side of the chain-link, a line of small pillars emerged from the ground and paralleled the fence. At the top of each miniature tower, a small light began scanning the desert. Just before the lines of light reached him, the martian's telekinesis pulled Superboy from the ground as she flew higher into the atmosphere. [_M'gann, what just…_]

[_The fence has an invisible extension nearly a hundred yards into the air_ _that triggers an alarm if it's_ _interfered with. It's here to make sure that whatever's in here stays in here._]

[_And that would be?_]

[_Uh, well, you'll see. But now we just need to find the Control before…No!_] Beside the pillars, the ground opened up and released a wave of machines. Varying in size, each drone was equipped with an anti-personnel weapon, and began to ascend towards the two teens.

Pointing her arms, M'gann threw Conner over where she perceived the top of the invisible fence. Looking down at the drones, she motioned again, and sent the two closest machines spiraling into the others. However, the wave continued as she flew over the barrier.

…

The plants were now Six feet in stature, and the sand dunes were engulfed in a sea of blue blossoms. While they no longer produced the blue powder, they thrashed and gripped onto the heroes.

Wally kicked and sprinted, cutting through the foliage, until his ankle was snagged by a plant's appendages. More leafy-arms reached out to hold him down, but an arrow quickly pierced the stem, causing the plant to loosen its grip. Wally kicked free. "Uh, thanks, beautiful."

"Shut up and help me!" Artemis tried to tear Robin from a plant, but more tendrils had grabbed onto each of the boy wonder's legs. Wally hacked away at the thickest stem by punching with incredible force and speed. "_STUPID_-" Artemis pulled a trick arrow from her quiver, "_PLANTS!_"

Aiming at the main stem of the closest plant, she shot and quickly pulled her teammates away. The plant's appendages let go and died in the explosion. However, where the flames died down, another plant's arms soon shot through the smoke and curled around the arms and legs of the three teens. With no luck, the heroes struggled against the hold.

Robin's mind worked like a machine once again- deciphering the plant's weaknesses and mentally reciting various scenarios. He held still, and his eyes shot open. _Of course!_

"Guys! Stop moving!"

"That sounds kinda counter-productive, Rob!" Wally vibrated his feet against the plants, however their grip only strengthened.

"No- they can only detect motion. By holding still we should be able to…Ah-ha!" The tendrils that surrounded him soon fell to the ground, allowing Robin to step free and onto a small patch of un-inhabited desert. "Just trust me: _Stop. Moving_."

With both hands tightly gripping her bow, Artemis quit struggling and the plant's became limp and lifeless. She carefully stepped out of their proximity and stood next to Robin. "Wally, you… _Wally!_" Artemis placed a hand on his one uncovered shoulder. "You _need_ to stop."

At her touch, Wally began to relax. His feet slowed, and the stem's grip weakened. He stepped over the pile of motionless plants, and rubbed where they once had a hold on his wrists. "Huh. Well. Who would have guessed?"

Robin and Artemis simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"Uh, has anyone seen Kaldur?" The three silently searched the foliage with their eyes; sure to not touch any of the blue flora.

Behind them, they heard the rustling of leaves, and saw a figure rising at the top of the forest. Tattoos glowing, the Atlantean peered over and spotted his team mates. Uncharacteristically, Kaldur grinned and shouted to the heroes. "Team, I've made a discovery."


	15. Chapter 15

"M'gann!" Conner jumped and punched through a drone that had begun to ready its weaponry. He propelled himself off of that machine, and collided with the next- slamming his fist through its circuits.

[_Oh- thanks, Superboy_!] Eyes glowing, M'gann turned towards the kryptonian, and aimed her arms. With one quick motion, she forced her fists together. As the two larger drones collided, an explosion blossomed behind Conner. Megan dropped her arms, smiled, and her cheeks blushed.

[_Uh…No problem_.]

On the ground below, inside the fence, another batch of the un-manned robots flew from the ground. Superboy punched another, then jumped to the ground, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

[_Here_!] M'gann landed on the top of a metal door in the sand and rock. The door's gleam was blinding, and rang metallically as M'gann searched the surrounding ground.

[_M'gann! we don't have time to—_] Suddenly, the new wave of drones began to fire, projectiles whizzing by the heroes and kicking up dust. [_Run!_]

Conner braced to leap onto his attackers, until another alarm filled the air. Unlike the previous ring- this noise triggered the drones. While the machines received the message, they began to fall from the sky; stunned and motionless. The door slide open with another metallic noise. [_M'gann, what…where—_]

[_C'mon, Superboy, we have to hurry- it's only a matter of time before…_] the door finished opening; revealing a glowing interior. [_Follow me._]

Conner followed, and as he descended into the bright room, a corridor of blindingly florescent lights lined the ceiling. This room was clearly a lab- hidden and conspicuous. _I really hate labs_. Shelves of scientific paraphernalia covered the walls, along with pots of mostly dead plants. Unlike those in the desert, the living flowers were green. Some were speckled with silver, while others suffered more radical mutations. To his left were trees and vines- some with flowers in an array of colors, and some with blossoms of a configuration he'd never before seen on Earth. To his left sat tables of seedlings. As he stared longer at the young, plants, they seemed to emerge further from the ground quickly before his eyes. Conner blinked, and a few of the plants had grown buds. Shocked, he stepped back, and the buds blossomed into flowers. _Blue_ flowers- speckled with silver, and stunningly beautiful.

"M'gann…"

"Get back!" The martian grabbed his arm, and the flowers let out a powder that surrounded the table. However, before the blue cloud reached the teens, a plastic curtain fell from the ceiling and intercepted the poison. The bright florescent light turned red, and another alarm sounded.

Conner looked at his teammate- puzzled and hating such a familiar setting. Perhaps even _scared_. [_M'gann, where are we?_]

[_I'll explain later, I promise, but we need to find that compound. For the Team's, and our, survival; we need to fix this. Now._]

…

With one swift movement of Aqua lad's arms, another tendril dropped to the ground and ceased to attack the heroes. Robin stepped over motionless plants, processing his teammate's new-found skills. Wally followed; quickly making his way through the blue death trap. Artemis walked closely behind, eyes wide and speechless. Another plant shifted out of their way. Water Bearers in hand, Kaldur orchestrated the forest of blue plants.

They seemed to be walking for hours. With Kaldur's use of hydrokinetics, the four no longer needed to battle the vines; only against hunger and insanity. However, this loss of sanity wasn't triggered by a toxin, but the Kid Flash. With each step, Wally talked. With each wave of hunger, Wally complained. With each mile the teens walked, Wally chattered.

"And, see, what I just don't get is, how _do_ the birds even know—"

"_Wally!_" Artemis stopped and turned, her hands on her head in annoyance. "Can you not just shut your mouth for _one minute_?!"

"What? I'm just trying to keep a conversation going. It's either that or awkward silence, so—"

"You're really just talking to yourself, Walls. I think we could all just use some quiet." Robin spoke up, taking a drink from Kaldur's extra water bottle.

Wally put his hands up in surrender. "Fine- we can just walk for hours in silence and go crazy. Sounds great."

"_Thank god_." Artemis sighed and continued after Aqua lad.

For a few more minutes, the Team walked with only the noise of breeze and Kaldur controlling the water of the plants. The sounds of their feet stepping over the fallen vines became rhythmic. _Calming_.

"…But, seriously though. That just makes _no_—"

"I will _end_ you!"

"Uh, guys?" Robin tapped Artemis' shoulder, and pointed past Kaldur. Instead of the leafy blue, the teens now walked into the rocky and un-inhabited desert which they once despised. However, now they ran onto the hot and rocky surface- joyfully leaving the forest. Wally sped onto the gravel, praising the dirt and dust.

"HALLELUJAH! I never thought I'd be so happy to leave one deadly terrain for a more lifeless, rocky, deadly terrain!"

The others stepped into the desert sun, resting and enjoying their brief sway of good luck.

"Uh, do any of you guys remember _that_?" Wally motioned towards the horizon, and stood.

The four heroes were miles, possibly minutes away from a tall, shimmering, chain link fence. While they were unaware of its purpose, the Team headed towards either their doom or salvation.


	16. Chapter 16

After several miles, the heat became less welcoming. Once they left the dense forest of murderous plants, the heroes now trekked the wide open desert- over dunes of sand and around boulders. Kaldur no longer lead, but followed behind- slowed by the dry and hot climate. Instead, Robin now guided the Team. With no sight of the bioship, they now headed towards the fence that grew taller with every step.

The barrier was shimmering now; chain link reflected sun into the eyes of the teens. With still no sight of the other two, the Team could only assume M'gann and Conner had found refuge by the shiny landmark.

Artemis followed behind the boy wonder. While each of their suits were torn and weathered by the desert, Artemis continued to hold up her appearance. The archer's ponytail was still holding and golden. And _beautiful_. Atleast, as Wally had noticed it.

The red head, however, hardly compared in looks. As more rips had appeared on his suit, the tear on his inner thigh had grown to an incredibly noticeable size. However, his sun burnt skin distracted the teen from any further embarrassment. Kid Flash no longer talked, but moped behind the blonde. He was silent not only because of the threat Artemis had placed, but due to his lack of energy. Hours without sustenance left Wally lethargic and barely able to climb over the surfaces of the dunes.

"Hey guys-" the speedster paused a second to catch his breath, "How 'bout we take five? Not like _I'm_ tired, but…" The other three had already stopped, each unscrewing the water bottles and sipping their remaining drops of water.

Robin took in the silence of the desert- the sun, sand, and heat. He studied it. The boy calculated the remaining rations of water and estimated the distance to the fence. His goal still chanted in his head; becoming a mantra of his purpose. _Survive. Fight to survive. Move to survive. Regroup to survive. _Lead_ to survive…_

A drop of sweat hit the ground and broke Robin out of his concentration. _"_We've wasted enough time- let's keep moving."

…

**Author's Note****- Sorry for this incredibly short chapter- I just felt like I needed to update. I'm currently traveling across the country, but I should have another (MUCH longer), more satisfying chapter out tomorrow! Sorry again for the long waits, but thank you all for sticking around :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**WARNING- Kinda bloody and gruesome...**

...

It was in the lower-most room that Conner saw the first body. A middle aged male dressed in a white lab coat lay in a mist of blue powder and…blood. Superboy listened, but heard no heartbeat. Only after turning the corner did he noticed the others. Several scientists, uniformed in the same white coat, lay sprawled across the cold tile. Blood pooled around the corpses. Conner stood- observing the scene, and appalled.

Each body showed bruises, cuts, and other signs of a struggle. However, only one scientist lay outside the bloody mess. A small, dark-haired female sat in the corner, leaning up against the wall. There were no visible signs of an injury, but her hands and coat were stained red.

Conner stepped over the others, and kneeled in front of her. Her soft heartbeat was now audible to the kryptonian. She seemed fragile; too weak to cause harm, especially to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey…are you awake?"

The woman made a mumbling noise, and barely flicked her eyes open. She winced and brought her hand to her forehead; pressing against her temple. Her eyes widened when she noticed Superboy, and she let out a surprised yelp. Her eyes seemed to gleam _blue_ before returning to their original dark-brown. Pressing herself against the wall, the scientist now saw the bodies, and then her own blood covered hands. She screamed.

"I…you…" The woman frantically tugged her hair. "Get away from me! You need to leave _now_! Save _yourself_!"

[_Conner?!_] M'gann came around the corner holding a vial, and saw the two along with the mass of bodies. She seemed un-phased by the horror, yet focused on the woman. Her eyes glowed green. "Superboy, get away from her!"

"We have to save her, M'gann….what are you _doing_?!"

Telepathic waves shot to the scientist, and she dropped to the ground; unconscious. Without answering, the martian telekinetically flew Superboy out of the room and quickly locked the door. "Are you ok? Did she touch you?"

"What did you _do_? I touched her shoulder, but—"

M'gann's face darkened. "I'm really sorry, Superboy; I have to do this." Her eyes glowed once again.

"No! M'gann, _wait_—" Conner's vision blurred, and he fell to the floor.

…

The four teens now stood in front of the enormous barrier. With no gate in their vicinity, the massive chain-link fence stretched across the desert- no end in sight. Due to its length, it was unclear whether the wall was designed for defense or encagement.

Wally kicked a rock, and it bounced into the metal. "So…_now_ what?"

"_Now_, we look for M'gann and Superboy." Robin explained, but stood still. The fence stuck out amidst the miles of sand and rock. _Why? What's the purpose?_

"Ooook, so we split up and—"

"No." Kaldur spoke up from the ground- kneeling from the heat. "This…_place_ is far too dangerous to separate. We must stay together."

"Fine- then left or right?"

No one answered. To each direction, the fence spanned the desert. They could waste hours travelling in one direction while their teammates where in the other.

"Oh, _for the love of_…" Artemis knelt down and grabbed a flat rock- one side light, and the other dark. She tossed the stone in the air and caught it. "Left it is, then."

An hour passed before they stopped again. With still no sight of the other two teammates, they now saw a chained gate that lead out of the cage. Or, perhaps, _into_ the cage…

"Hey, maybe it's unlocked…" Wally reached out an arm, but was quickly yanked back by a tan hand.

"Stop! Look," Artemis pointed to a neon yellow sign. "_High voltage_."

Wally coughed. "Oh. Uh, thanks, Babe."

The four held still, as a metal surface appeared on the opposing side of the wall. One side began to lift, and the door gleamed; reflecting sun into their eyes. A girl with familiar red hair and green skin stepped from the opening in the desert.

"_M'gann_!" the Team called in unison, glad to be united with their friend once more.

However, Miss Martian didn't greet them with her usual giddiness, but instead pulled another motionless teen from the doorway.

Robin stepped forward. "M'gann, is that… _Superboy_? What happened?"

"Robin, I—I had to…You guys, still don't remember what happened, neither did Conner, but—"

"_You_ did this to him?" Artemis squinted. "…Are you poisoned?"

M'gannn took a step back. _Poison_… "Did you guys come in contact with the second stage of the plant?"

"If by 'second stage' you mean those tendril-y death traps, then yes." Robin replied. "M'gann, what do you know?"

"I need to give you this compound before it's too late; when you touch the plants when they're not in their final stage, they release another toxin that…_Wally_?"

The other three turned to face the speedster who no longer spoke. He stood straight, and stared into the distance until turning to look at Robin. His eye's weren't his usual emerald hue, but gleamed blue…

"Uh, Walls? Are you—" Robin paused. Wally's straight face turned into a devilish grin. He then lunged forward and, with swift and unpredictable movements, Kid Flash attacked with only the intent to kill.


	18. Chapter 18

_No_, M'gann thought. _No. No. No…_

She tried to use telekinesis. Tried to pry her teammates to safety. To be _useful_. However, the powder from the concentration of plants in the lab weakened her abilities once again.

The crazed look in Wally's eyes- the way he ran and struck his teammates was far too rigid and aggressive. And _familiar_. His unpredictable beats and rhythm, paired with the meta-human's speed, deemed him a challenging opponent for the other three. The other three; which were refusing to use any risky attacks, reduced to only dodges and attempts at restraining the possessed speedster.

M'gann had seen this behavior before. Before the desert. Before the plants…

_"You will be stationed near the South border of Bialya."Batman stood before a holographic map of the Earth as it zoomed in to the Middle Eastern country. The Team sighed. "I understand your past missions in Bialya have been…less than successful, but there have been no suspicions of Queen Bee interfering with the lab's current predicament." "Which is _what_, exactly?" Superboy asked- arms crossed. Batman glared, either intentionally or as an automatic response. _

Wally blocked Kaldur's defensive strike, and kicks himself off of the Atlantean's chest- flipping in a canon ball with incredible speed.

"Wally! We just—_unff!_" Robin was interrupted by a collision with the speedster's feet. However, instead of jumping off to continue the fight, Wally pinned the thirteen-year-old to the sand. Even with the distance, M'gann could see the gleam of deep blue in the red-head's eyes.

_"The Justice league has been monitoring a lab that specializes in botanical cures for major diseases." The holographic screen now showed an image of a group of smiling, lab coat clad scientists- each holding a potted plant. "Recently, we've become increasingly suspicious about a new, chemically altered, line of plants the lab has been engineering—" "And you need _us_ to find out why." "Correct, Robin. An inside lead has given us some intel on its destructive properties," A list of stats and symptoms appeared on the glowing projection. "But recently, we've…lost contact." _

Robin struggled underneath his friend's grip, but the older teen seemed…stronger. The boy wonder _could_ easily break free, but by harming the speedster he would have failed. Failed to protect his teammate. His _friend.._.

"Wally! Snap out of it!" Artemis called from behind.

For a moment, Wally froze. The blue drained from his irises, and emerald green briefly returned. "Whoa, what—"

"…Walls?" Robin still lay pinned beneath the Kid Flash.

Then, he was gone. Once again blue eyed and unaware, he tightened his grip.

_The Team stood silently as they read through the dangerous effects of the plant. "If toxins are inhaled, symptoms include: Nausea, Severe headaches, Amnesia, etc. If exposed for extensive amounts of time, test subjects were reported reliving past traumas such as the loss of a loved one or near death experiences. If test subjects made physical contact with the plant during its transitional stage of maturing, approximately 50% would experience uncontrolled actions- usually of violent nature. Affected subjects experienced unnatural discoloration- usually of the eyes."Next, the screen presented several graphic pictures. Each bloody scene was shown next to a picture of a young adult. Above the pictures were the titles "Subject:" and "Outcome:". Batman stepped back into the glow of the screen. "You depart at 800 hours."_

M'gann tried once more. Tried to fly, restrain him, _something_. With all of her strength, the martian barely levitated the influenced hero. However, with the small window of freedom he was provided, Robin escaped Wally's clutch until M'gann could no longer telekinetically lift him. As Wally hit the ground, so did she. Collapsed beside Conner, M'gann could only observe.

Robin rolled onto his feet, bracing defensively. Wrists sore and dehydrated, Robin wanted nothing less than harming his friend. His _best_ friend. Regardless, his hand rested on his belt, already gripping an explosive. "C'mon, man, don't make me…"

Wally only grinned- bringing out the insanity in his eyes. He sped onto his feet, and sped forward once again.

"STOP!" The archer leapt in his path; pulling on the bow string with a blunt arrow prepared.

The yellow streak of speed stopped before Artemis. He looked her in the eye, and blinked. The green returned to his eyes, and Wally dropped to his knees. "Artemis- I…I'm _sorry_."

His eyes dropped shut and he began to fall to the ground. Artemis knelt, too, and caught the exhausted teen.

Robin sighed and let go of his belt. They were all _together_. They could still _survive_…

For what seemed like the first time, Robin smiled.

"_Kaldur_—" M'gann shouted from the other side of the fence. She was also collapsed in the sand. Robin understood. His eyes widened as he turned, but only glimpsed the newly deep blue of Kaldur's eyes. That blank stare. Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder. _No_.

The electricity shot through the boy wonder, and he fell.

"_NO!_" M'gann screamed, but choked on the lump in her throat. She saw Wally lying in the sand, Robin collapsed and convulsing, Artemis standing and aiming her bow at Aqua lad. She saw her friends; broken.

She could observe no longer.

With all of her strength, effort, and will, M'gann's eyes began to glow. Mustering energy from the pits of her existence, she shot out a wave of telepathy to the two standing heroes, and they dropped. The martian then cried as her eyelids fell shut.

The Team collectively lay amongst the rock and dirt, bound to leave this desert the same way as they had found themselves in it. Unconscious.

...

**Author's Note****- Well, I hope that wasn't too hard to follow. And, again, thanks for being patient, but don't worry- that's not the end! I hope to have a conclusion chapter (Or chapters?) up some time this weekend :)**


End file.
